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COVID-19 Advisory

Published onFeb 26, 2020
COVID-19 Advisory

Last updated: 10am ET, March 6th

Statement at 10am ET, March 6th:

As a follow-up to our precautionary messages a few hours ago, we have now received OFFICIAL MIT APPROVAL TO CARRY ON WITH THE EVENT, provided we take some additional measures detailed below.

  • STRICTLY no more than 150 people in any one place

  • STRICTLY NO HANDSHAKES

  • Parts which were previously planned to be communal (e.g. lunch) will now be staggered or distributed with additional hygiene measures being taken.

  • Please leave the conference and return to your lodgings IMMEDIATELY if you feel unwell. If you are unable to do so, please contact a member of the conference team who will direct you to a quiet "wellness room".

  • If you are unwell, DO NOT come to the conference.

On behalf of the Cryptoeconomic Systems '20 organizers, we apologize for any inconvenience caused by these recent developments and we are ready to answer any queries you might have: chairs [at] cryptoeconomic [dot] systems.


Statement at 11pm ET, March 5th:

We want to let you know about a developing situation regarding the status
of CES'20. If you are yet to begin your trip to Boston, consider remaining
at home and participating remotely - particularly if traveling
internationally.

Tonight, MIT released this statement (http://web.mit.edu/covid19/)
regarding events happening on campus. We are reaching out to the
administration in an attempt to receive “excepted status” given the
imminence of the event, but in the meantime we want to be completely
transparent.

We are looking at all other options including relocating part of the event
off-campus, virtualizing, restricting numbers in any one location etc.

At this time we cannot say with certainty what the outcome is, but
virtualization / cancellation / postponement is certainly possible. MIT
Fintech have their conference tomorrow and it appears to still be going
ahead.

Thank you again for your support! We are making best efforts to continue in
as optimal a manner as is possible. We'll make a full public statement as
soon as we have some clarity.


Statement last updated March 3rd:

We are keeping track of the current concerns for public health that COVID-19 (aka coronavirus) is creating. Though we do not expect any significant impact to this event, we ask you to exercise common sense and caution as the situation is developing on a daily basis.

There remains no current, identified risk to the MIT community, and we continue to communicate regularly with the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state and local departments of public health. We are adhering to the MIT International Travel Risk Policy, all Department of State and CDC travel advisories, as well as public health recommendations, and we will adjust our policies and plans to reflect advisories and recommendations from those agencies.

For attendees traveling internationally to Cryptoeconomic Systems ‘20, if you feel unwell prior to leaving home please do not travel. We encourage all potential travelers to continue to monitor MIT Medical’s website for updates on COVID-19, the MIT International Coordinating Committee (ICC) website for associated travel restrictions, and the CDC and Department of State websites for additional helpful information.

At present there are no specific recommendations to cancel / postpone meetings of this nature but they do recommend some specific planning and we are following those recommendations.

1. Measures to prevent transmission by surface contact:

  • MIT have placed additional hand sanitizer dispensers around campus facilities.

  • Surface wipes will be available in multiple rooms for cleaning any shared equipment or surfaces, such as microphones and door handles.

  • Do not feel obliged to shake hands with anyone and also do not feel offended if anyone declines to do so.  

2.  Measures for anyone who feels unwell to prevent them spreading infection:

  • We are setting aside rooms for rest / isolation for anyone who feels ill during the meeting.

  • MIT Medical Urgent Care is open every day 08:00 until 20:00.

3.  Voluntary travel guidelines for travelers from countries experiencing COVID-19 outbreak:

  • Only travelers from provinces where travel is allowed and on a whitelist of those who have had their health monitored for a number of weeks should participate in-person at the meeting.

We understand that some people are very concerned about the risk to health, that some other events have been cancelled or switched to a remote-only model and that some companies are putting corporate travel restrictions into place.  However, it remains our view that there are significant risks in both under-reacting and over-reacting to this complex and developing situation, and as we are not epidemiologists or public health experts we will follow the evidence-based advice of those that are.

This information is partially based on an IETF advisory.

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